Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially dropped out of the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

On Sunday, DeSantis issued a message from the Sunshine State.

“Following our second place finish in Iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward. If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops [and] more interviews, I would do it,” DeSantis explained.

“But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory,” he continued.

“Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” DeSantis announced.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance. And they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him,” he continued.

“While I’ve had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis endorsed Donald Trump moving forward.

“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” he continued.

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CBS News reports:

After placing a distant second in Iowa, losing to former President Donald Trump by 30 points, DeSantis has failed to articulate his path to the nomination and what states he would be able to win against Trump, dropping out of the race two days before the New Hampshire primary.

He had invested large amounts of time and money in trying to win Iowa, as he and his super PAC bet that an aggressive approach of retail politics and building a ground game operation would result in an upset or a closer race. DeSantis finished 30 points behind Trump last week in the Iowa caucuses.

With DeSantis dropping out and endorsing Donald Trump over Nikki Haley, it’s only a matter of time before Haley also bows out.

According to the latest figures, Trump is poised for a dominant victory over Haley in Tuesday’s New Hampshire GOP primary.

Per CNN:

The race for the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary appears to be former President Donald Trump’s to lose, according to a new CNN poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire following Trump’s 30-point win in Iowa’s caucuses last week.

Trump holds 50% support among likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State, while his closest competitor, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, stands at 39%. Both have gained supporters since the last CNN/UNH poll in early January – when Trump held 39% to Haley’s 32% – as the field of major contenders has shrunk from six candidates to three. Both Trump and Haley now hold their highest level of support in UNH polling on the race since 2021. But Haley’s sharp gains since late last summer have not been enough to catch Trump, as the gap between them has once again widened to double digits.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who led the race in UNH’s polling in early 2023 but has recently pulled back his efforts in the state, stands at just 6% in the poll, below the 10% minimum support he would need to win delegates there per the Republican Party’s rules.

For Trump’s opponents, New Hampshire has long appeared to be the place in the early primary calendar that offered the best shot at knocking him off track in his bid for a third straight GOP presidential nomination. It was the only early state where polls consistently found Trump without majority support, and where voters often showed the most openness to his rivals. But this latest survey suggests that Trump’s popularity within the GOP base and the commitment of his supporters outweigh the appeal of his challengers.

 

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